Cooper Flagg grabs top spot, Derik Queen surges in NBA rookie rankings

It was as if Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, the two former Duke teammates who have an early lead over the rest of the field in the race to be the 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year, were trying to outdo one another while playing in NBA games in different parts of the country earlier this week.

First, it was Knueppel, who backed up a career-best 33-point performance with 29 points in overtime on Dec. 14 to help the Charlotte Hornets beat the team with the Eastern Conference’s best record a year ago. Then, about 24 hours later, Flagg became the first 18-year-old in NBA history to score more than 40 points in a game as his rookie campaign with the Dallas Mavericks reached new heights.

After they won rookie of the month honors for their respective conferences together in November, this was another indication that Flagg and Knueppel are poised to jockey for the top spot in USA TODAY’s NBA rookie rankings the rest of the regular season. The battle to be No. 1 was part of another shake-up in this bi-weekly check-in with the league’s best rookies, with New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen surging into the top-five and a couple Western Conference rookies from outside the first round of the 2025 NBA draft who recently became starters for the first time.

Here’s a breakdown of how all the rookies stack up now that the NBA Cup is over and the 2025-26 season is approaching Christmas:

NBA rookie rankings

Stats as of games played on Dec. 16; NBA Rookie of the Year odds as of 4 p.m. ET on Dec. 17, courtesy of BetMGM.

On the bubble: Will Richard, Sion James, Egor Demin, Ace Bailey, Danny Wolf

NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +50,000

The No. 42 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft broke out for a career-best 25 points in his first career start for the Kings during a lopsided Dec. 3 loss to the Houston Rockets. Raynaud then backed it up with a double-double in a 127-11 win on the road against the Miami Heat on Dec. 6 and remains in Sacramento’s starting lineup. The Stanford product is averaging 14.6 points and 7.8 rebounds in December while shooting 58.5% from the field and 60% from 3-point range.

NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +25,000

The second-round pick returned to the Hornets’ starting lineup in recent games and continues to shoot nearly 80% from the field after coming away mostly unscathed from an ankle injury scare. Kalkbrenner is averaging two blocks per game in December, splitting time at center with Moussa Diabate and Mason Plumlee.

NBA Rookie of the Year odds: N/A

The younger brother of Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard is on a two-way contract with the Mavericks this season after going undrafted out of Gonzaga, but he might not be for long. Ryan Nembhard has made eight consecutive starts at point guard for Dallas after not appearing in 13 of the team’s first 18 games this season. He’s been a revelation after exploding to start December with a historic 28-point, 10-assist stat line in a win over the Denver Nuggets. Nembhard notched his third double-double (14 points, 11 assists) in the Mavericks’ overtime loss to the Utah Jazz on Dec. 15.

NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +6600

The No. 2 overall pick leads all rookies in offensive rating despite a 26.8% mark from 3-point range after making a successful return from an early-season injury. Harper had a team-best 21 points in the Spurs’ NBA Cup championship game loss to the New York Knicks. It came eight days after the 6-foot-5 guard had 22 points and hit a game-winner with less than 10 seconds left to help San Antonio beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 8.

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